More From NBC

PRESS Pass: Michelle Rhee

Former DC schools chancellor Michelle Rhee called for President Obama to "go a step further" with education reform in a second term. Rhee praised the president's Race To The Top initiative that awarded money to states and schools for completing certain reforms. She called it "very promising," but proposed that, instead of a small sliver of the budget, the federal government should make a majority of education funding "contingent upon moving things forward."

To fix the problem, Rhee argues, "the obvious solutions are all in the middle." She charges politicians to work together and figure out the answers "instead of staying in these polarized camps."

For students, the best thing schools can provide are options. By the time they graduate, students should "have the option to go on to a four-year university, and they have the skills and knowledge to do that without remediation. Or if they want to go straight into the work force, they have the knowledge necessary to get a well-paying job," Rhee said.

Watch the entire PRESS Pass discussion with Michelle Rhee above to hear more from the former DC schools chancellor including why she thinks there's no single solution to the debate about keeping our students safe in schools.